Program Overview

Howard University Hospital is one of America's best hospitals. The rich tradition of leadership and service at Howard University Hospital (HUH) dates back to 1862. Housed in converted army barracks, it was initially called Freedmen’s Hospital and provided a refuge where ex-slaves received the medical care they were denied elsewhere.

In the late1860s, Freedmen’s formed a partnership with the Howard University College of Medicine to train African-American medical professionals. Together the medical school and the hospital have served as a training ground for many of the nation's top African-American physicians.

Over the course of its 145-year history of providing the finest primary, secondary and tertiary health care services, Howard University Hospital has become one of the most comprehensive health care facilities in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and designated a DC Level 1 Trauma Center. 

A private, nonprofit institution, HUH is the nation's only teaching hospital located on the campus of a historically Black university. It offers medical students a superior learning environment and opportunities to observe or participate in ground-breaking clinical and research work with professionals who are changing the face of health care. Washingtonian and Black Enterprise magazines have identified physicians affiliated with the hospital as leaders in a vast range of specialties.

Mission

Our mission is to provide exemplary comprehensive healthcare that is efficient, respectful, patient-centered and coordinated for the benefit of our patients, families, and community, while providing experiential learning opportunities for our postgraduate trainees and students

The goal of the Howard University Family Medicine Residency Program is to develop highly trained physicians who are eligible to sit for the Family Medicine Specialty Boards after graduation and can manage medical problems in a longitudinal and comprehensive manner. The Program Requirements for Residency Education in Family Medicine developed by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) are the basis of the Program's curriculum. An annual In-training examination provided by the American Board of Family Medicine, administered on the last week in October, measures the trainees' progress among peers across the nation.

Family Medicine is comprehensive medical care with a particular emphasis on the patient as a member of a family unit and the psychosocial aspects of functioning within this unit as it pertains to health. The Family Physician’s responsibility is to manage the patient's health care needs-irrespective of age, gender, or malady-while maintaining a confidential and professional relationship with the patient. The Family Physician personally coordinates the efforts of all the health care professionals involved in the care of the patient throughout the illness, recovery, rehabilitation, and follow-up.

Although the body of knowledge that constitutes the discipline of Family Medicine is derived from other disciplines such as Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Surgery, and Psychiatry, emphasis is placed on the efficient integration and coordination of necessary health services. The Family Medicine physician establishes a cohesive approach to health care combining behavioral sciences with traditional biological and clinical sciences. The core of knowledge within this discipline prepares the Family Physician for the patient's first contact with the health care system and throughout ongoing care.

Rotations

BLOCK ROTATIONS

YEAR 1

Family Medicine Inpatient 4-5 blocks

Pediatrics Outpatient 1 block

OB 1 block

MICU 1 block

Surgery 1 block

Dermatology/Vacation 3 weeks/1 week

Radiology/Vacation 2 weeks/2 weeks

Night Float 1-2 blocks

Nursery 1 block

 

YEAR 2

Family Medicine Inpatient 2 blocks

Obstetrics 1 block

Geriatrics/Psychiatry 1 block

Practice Management 1 block

Gynecology 1 block

ED 1 block

Peds ED 1 block

Sports Medicine 1 block

Cardiology/vacation 3wks/1wk

ED/Vacation 2 weeks/2 weeks

Peds Inpt 1 block

Elective 1 block

 

YEAR 3

Family Medicine Inpatient 2 blocks

Ambulatory Surgery 1 block

Orthopedics 1 block

Urology/Vacation 2 weeks/2 weeks

Optho/ENT 2weeks/2weeks

Pediatrics outpt 1 block

Research/Vacation 3 wks/1 wk

Community Medicine & population health 1 block

FHC & procedures 1block

Electives 3 blocks

 

LONGITUDINAL ROTATIONS

PGY-1, 2, 3

Family Health Center

La Clinica Del Pueblo

Behavioral Medicine

OB continuity and delivery

Newborn nursery continuity

Home Visit

Nursing Home Visit

 

Collaboration

The Department of Family Medicine collaborates with a number of affiliate hospitals and private physicians. These are listed below.

  • Children’s National Medical Center - Pediatrics-Inpatient and Pediatrics-Emergency Room training
  • Veterans Administration - Geriatrics training
  • District of Columbia Department of Health STD Clinic – Community Medicine and Population Health training
  • Bread for the City – Community Medicine and Population Health training